A Tale Through the Eyes Redone
by lacking a better name
Summary: He couldn’t remember when he started to like her, it was probably after the pox epidemic, but Briar remembered the exact moment he fell in love with her. It was a different type of love, different from the love he had for his other foster-sisters.


**Disclaimer:** All the characters belong to Tamara Pierce

**Authors Note:** This takes place after WOTE, but you only need to have read the first quartet to understand it. They all are living in Daja's house.

**A Tale Through the Eyes**

He couldn't remember when he started to like her, it was probably after the pox epidemic, but Briar remembered the exact moment he fell in love with her. It was a different type of love, different from the love he had for his other foster-sisters. No, this love was harsh, less gentle.

Briar had just walked in from the garden, checking on his plants after the latest storm. The wind had smelt like her, he could feel the energy of her magic in every breeze. So, naturally, he was very aware of her when he walked into the sitting room and saw her reading in her favourite chair.

She looked up at the sound of his entrance and she caught his eyes with her own. It only lasted a few seconds, but he had felt the emotions that had left him breathless. Briar left the room as quickly as he could, without alerting her of anything.

Once outside, he slumped against the wall and tried to get his breath back. There had been a storm brewing in her eyes, but for once, it wasn't in anger. It was some other emotion he had never seen before, something he wanted desperately to understand. Then, with a shock, he realised something. _If I saw so much in her eyes, _Briar thought to himself, _what did Tris see in mine?_

T/B

Tris was confused. Briar had walked in from gardening, looked her in the eyes, and then ran out. Had he read the long hidden feelings she had harboured for him.

He had been dressed in simple brown breeches and a tunic, the same color as his almond eyes. His sleeves had been rolled up past his elbows to reveal muscled, tanned arms, dirtied from working in the soil. Remembering the way he had looked, her heart began beating harder and she flushed.

It had been so hard to hide the feeling she had raging inside her. Tris had realised when she was 13 that she had more than sisterly feelings for Briar. She had ignored them; knowing Briar wouldn't feel the same way. Tris was Tris. No man seemed to like her that way.

She had grown taller, now 5'6 and had slimmed down during her travels; riding and walking all day, plus eating nothing but dried fruit and hard biscuits, causes people to lose some baby fight. Tris now had a slim waist, well slim for her, and she had filled out in all the right places. She was no beauty, but she was pretty enough.

Tris sighed and closed her book, not even bothering to mark her place. She left the sitting room to start preparing dinner.

T/B

Daja was walking towards the house after a day at her forge when she bumped into Briar. He mumbled an apology and kept on shuffling towards the garden, still mumbling to himself.

"I'm a complete bleater; she'll never feel like that about me. Why her?"

Daja followed him, Briar's usually sharp senses not noticing her, trying to figure out who was this mysterious girl Briar had fallen for. Unfortunately, all Briar said was more insults directed at himself. She sighed and went to go help Tris in the kitchen. Tris was just about done, so Daja set the table. She looked up to see Tris's mind elsewhere.

"Tris are you okay; you're just as spaced out as Briar."

"I'm fine. What's wrong with Briar?" Tris shook her head.

"He seems pretty out of it." Daja was not going to mention Briar's newest interest. It was his business.

At that moment Briar walked in, spotted Tris, blushed and walked out. Tris looked at the doorway where Briar had left, a weird expression on her face. Meanwhile, Daja was putting two and two together.

T/B

Briar couldn't believe he had just done that. He had sunk out of his daze to find he was hungry. Briar had walked into the kitchen and spotted Tris, not even noticing Daja there. The flood of emotions he had felt earlier that day hit him just as hard. _She so beautiful_, Briar thought, his heart aching. Then he had blushed at the thought. Him, Briar Moss, had blushed at the thought of a girl's beauty. What was wrong with him?

His heart was beating hard in his chest as he climbed the stairs to the balcony. The wind was blowing hard, but it couldn't cool his heated face. The breezes stirred around his body and caused his hair to go into his eyes. Using the back of his hand, he brushed it away.

Briar whirled around as he heard footsteps behind him. It took him half a second to release his knives into his hands. Briar stared at the shadowy figure in the doorway. Once he saw the trader staff, he relaxed, sliding his knives back up his sleeves.

"A little fidgety, are we?" Daja asked lightly, a small smirk on her face.

"No." Briar replied shortly. Daja moved up beside him, her back leaning against the balcony's rail, giving him a stare that told him why she was there. She asked the question that had been bugging her.

"How long have you known?" Briar shook his head, not ready to admit to anything.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't act stupid with me Briar, I heard you mumbling to yourself and I was in the kitchen too." Briar could tell Daja was getting annoyed.

"You were? Sorry, I only noticed Tris." Saying her name made him happy. Daja noticed the small smile flitting across his face.

"You never answered my question, how long have you known?" Briar sighed in defeat.

"I'm not sure. I've had feelings for her for awhile, but I didn't realise I loved her till this morning. It was a shock."

"I bet it was. So when are you going to tell her?" That surprised Briar.

"Tell her? Are you crazy, I can't tell her!" Now it was Daja's turn to be surprised. She looked him in the eye.

"And why not? It's Tris. You really think she doesn't feel the same way?"

"Yeah, I do." Briar was getting angry; Daja had no right to be putting these hopes in his head. He knew full well Tris didn't feel that way about him. The thought hurt, it hurt a lot. The flower tattoos on his hands grew black and thorny. Briar put his hand on his chest in hope of dulling his aching heart. It didn't work.

"Briar calm down and think. Trust me Tris feels the same way."

_Daja climbed on the thatch roof of discipline cottage to find Tris staring at the garden. Daja glanced down and saw Briar doing the summer weeding. He was bare-chested and the sun was just so, so that Tris could see him, but he couldn't see Tris. _

_ Tris let out a sigh and put her hand to her chest. Daja made a sound as she sat next to Tris. The girl swirled to stare at Daja with surprise._

"_Oh! Daja, I-I didn't know you were up here."_

So merchant girl_, Daja mind spoke to Tris,_ what are you doing up here by yourself? _Tris blushed then put her head in her hands. Daja could here her breathing deeply, trying to get a hold of herself. Finally Tris replied, also using mind speech, so as not to risk being overheard._

I don't know. He's Briar, our brother, but I can't seem to think of him that way anymore. It's driving me crazy. And what's the point anyway, he doesn't like me that way_. Her mind voice sounded sad and stressed, not the fiery storm it usually was. Daja silently patted her on the back, she had suspected that Tris had a crush on Briar, she just hadn't realised it was a big crush._

You don't know that he doesn't like you_. Tris snorted_

Please Daja, its Briar. Boys like him don't like girls like me_. Tris got up and climbed down the ladder. Daja stayed where she was and looked down at the boy as he pulled weeds from the earth. Daja smiled. Tris was right, it was Briar, but that was why she wouldn't give up hope._

Briar sighed and left the balcony. Daja smiled and wondered whether to just confront Tris with the facts or just let things run their own course. She was leaning more towards just telling Sandry and letting her figure it out. As if reading her thoughts Briar stuck his head back through the door.

"No one will hear of what we just discussed, understand? That means Tris or Sandry or anyone else you can think of." With that, he left. Daja's smile widened at the challenge. She would have fun trying to find loopholes in what he just said.

T/B

After Briar had rushed out, Tris and Daja had eaten dinner and cleaned up silently, both deep in their own thoughts.

Tris wandered up to her room to think about the day. _Briar was acting so strangely_, she thought as she stepped out onto her balcony and felt the breath of winds on her face. They brought with them images and sounds of Briar and Daja talking. Tris listened, curious as to why Briar looked so distressed.

"_You never answered my question, how long have you known?" _That was Daja.

"_I'm not sure. I've had feelings for her for awhile, but I didn't realise I loved her till this morning. It was a shock." _Tris flinched at the words. Briar was in love?

"_I bet it was. So when are you going to tell her?" _

"_Tell her? Are you crazy, I can't tell her!" _Tell who? Tris wanted to scream her question, but she remained silent.

"_And why not? It's Tris. You really think she doesn't feel the same way?"_

"_Yeah, I do." _

She was stunned. She couldn't possibly have heard right, it must be some mistake. Tris couldn't stop the hope rising high in her chest, no matter how hard she tried to squish it back down. It would explain why he was acting so weird, but she must be wrong. It didn't make sense.

Tris had it; she would go and talk to Daja that instant. Tris followed their magical link to the forge, where Daja was cleaning up. Daja noticed Tris and dusted off her hands.

"Hey Tris, what ar-" Tris cut her off.

"Daja, what were you and Briar talking about?" she sounded worried.

"What are you talking about?" Daja tried to keep the surprise out of her voice, she didn't succeed.

"Oh, don't act like I'm talking gibberish. It's a _windy_ evening, in case you haven't noticed. You can't really have a private conversation outdoors with me around." Tris was past annoyed

"If you heard, why are you talking to me and not him?" Daja didn't even try to conceal her surprise.

"Because it's impossible. He couldn't love me." Tris sounded desperate.

"Are you sure about that." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I am. Or, at least, I was." Tris slumped against the wall, truly confused.

"Daja tell me the truth, I need to know."

"The truth is you and Briar need to talk." And that was all Daja would say on the subject.

T/B

Briar was in his garden, not doing anything, just enjoying himself in the presence of his plants. He was daydreaming of what it would be like if Tris felt the same way. Briar knew he was romancing, too many years with Rosethorn didn't allow him to deny it, but he didn't really care. He just didn't understand any of it. Why did he have to fall in love with Coppercurls? Briar valued her friendship so much, how could he ruin it by admitting to feelings she didn't share. But he couldn't not tell her, it hurt too much to see her and not announce his feeling to the world, or not sweep her into his arms and hold her tight to his chest. He sighed and put his head in his hands. At that moment Tris walked up to stand beside him.

T/B

Tris had watched the changing emotions on Briar's face, while her chest had swelled with love. First there had been happiness, then anger, then, finally, sadness. Tris couldn't stand to see Briar sad, so she walked up beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

He took his face out of his hands to look at her. His emotions were clear in his bright green eyes- shock, happiness and most prominent, sadness. Then his arms were around her, holding Tris tight to his chest, She stiffened in shock, but relaxed into his hold after a moment. She weaved her hands around his neck and placed her head in the crook his neck and shoulder made.

Neither knew how long they stayed like that, but to both, it wasn't long enough. Tris leaned back to look him in the eyes, still keeping her arms around his neck, and he keeping his arms around her waist. The look in Briar's eyes made her heart beat faster in her chest. He hesitated a moment, but when Briar saw the same look in Tris's eyes, he kissed her.

The kiss began gentle, testing to make sure it was what she wanted, but when Tris returned the kiss with enthusiasm, Briar deepened it, causing both of them to shiver with pleasure.

They broke it only when they realised air was needed. Tris lay her head against his chest, but Briar removed one of his hands from her waist to bring her face back to his. They kissed for another long moment, heat coursing through both their bodies.

"I love you" Briar said quietly, her face still close to his. He revelled in the feeling of saying it.

"And I you" Tris responded and she meant it.

**THE END**

Well, this is the second version of _A Tale through the Eyes_ and it's a lot better than the first, or at least I think so.

And I know the ending is bad, but I suck at endings and when I write short stories, I usually just kill off the main character, but I couldn't do that with Tris and Briar! That would have been horrible!

P.S. Plz don't review just to tell me you don't like the pairing. T/B is my favourite circle pairing and I would appreciate it if you didn't bash it.

P.P.S. I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors, I suck at typing and my grammar is way below sub-par.

lacking a better name


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